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What happens after Monday.

Posted by Scott Tribe on October 17, 2008, at 5:10 pm |

So we’ve received word through a Liberal Party news release that Stephane Dion is holding a press conference on Monday at 2 pm. In all likelihood, it means that Dion will announce his resignation and that a new leader will be picked in May, which was going to be the leadership review.

I’m going to pick up a bit from my one post where I speculated “what the Liberals should do if Dion leaves as leader”, and say if that is the scenario that plays out on Monday, whether Dion remains the interim leader or someone else is picked, we had better not see the Liberals fold like a cheap suitcase whenever the Conservatives bring up odious bills and then threaten to make them non-confidence votes.

If they’re bad bills, they’re bad bills. Period.

The entire Liberal caucus should vote against it if that’s the case – none of these abstain or mass absenteeisms that we had to put up with for an entire year. This is particularly true in the first 1 -6 months of the new Harper administration, where that threat/bluff may not work, due to the fact the Governor-General may not be so inclined to send Canadians back to the polls so soon without seeing if other parties can become the government first. In my opinion, nothing sapped the morale of the grassroots of the Liberals more then seeing all these abstain votes on bills we considered odious. Some say it was Dion’s fault, others say his caucus and/or his chief strategists pushed Dion into accepting that strategy, but I want to see that strategy end.

As for me, I’ll wait until Monday and the official announcement before I declare what new candidate I might support, but my hint to all on my leanings are that I hope there are a couple of new candidates thrown into the mix this time around who weren’t running last time that folks could consider. A candidate that supports some of that grassroots reform and organizational reforms I mentioned a couple of blogposts ago would also get a nod of approval – at least from me.

The vote is in the centre, Liberals have to try and take that away from Harper.
That would be difficult with Rae, or Kennedy, or anyone from Toronto. How else can they make inroads outside urban areas.

So, Ted, not a word about “not a leader”? Did you forget that? Negative ads aplenty, and they worked like a charm. And what would moving the party to the right do, exactly? For every voter you might pick up from the Conservatives, you’re losing one (or two, considering Conservatives stuck by their party during the last election) to the NDP and Greens. The conservatives will still win blue/red split ridings, albeit with higher third- and fourth-place party vote counts. And the NDP will steal away the urban centers.

Oh, and you won’t be able to fundraise, either. McKenna and Manley are as charismatic as trees, and small donors don’t come from the center in the first place. They’re progressives: the same progressives you’ll be thoroughly alienating.

Sorry, but figuring out a policy platform was as idiot-simple as picking a spot on an invisible string.

The reason Dion lost was the “Green Shift”.
It has now came out (Toronto Star)that the Liberals own pollster warned him and he ignored him. Furthermore, the Liberals waged a very negative campaign, one thought Michael Moore was writing the liberal ads. Dion running against George Bush may play well with the choir or the hard left, but those voters are not voting for Harper anyways.

My advice to Liberals, pick someone who is on the right of the party, and move away from all the anti-American crap.

Pick John Manley or Frank McKenna, move away from the leftist crazies and you will be on your way to a possible victory in two or three years. The problem is that they may not want to run.
The party has too much debt, and seems to moving too far to the left for their liking.

Liberals have to learn to fund raise from the grass roots. Conservatives have a party donor base over six times that of Liberals, thanks to its Reform roots.
Liberals were addicted to the corporate elite for money.

Honestly – I don’t believe they should. I think what they SHOULD do is say – We will hold the Conservatives to the promises they made during the campaign – not to raise taxes, and not to run a deficit. If they raise taxes, or run a deficit, vote against it – as they did not keep their promises.

WHEN they cut programs – vote for it – by saying that the Conservatives are keeping their promises (as per above), and although you DON’T and STRONGLY DISAGREE with the cuts, the “majority” of Canadians voted for the Conservative party, and this was the platform they voted for.

Our Canada DESERVES the government they got. It will be tough to do – but let’s face, those that voted Conservative need to know just what living under a Conservative Government means.

When the next election comes – run your platform, state what you will re-institute. This will show 2 things:

1) The Liberals have listened to the electorate, who said they wanted Conservative rule
2) You kept them to THEIR promises
3) This is how you will do things differently.
4) It will force the Conservatives to either break a promise (again) OR cancel or try to cancel beloved programs.

Is it gutsy – or maybe “stupid” – possibly – but maybe, just maybe, it’s stupid like a fox!